Right-hander Ryan Perry was summoned from the Detroit bullpen to replace Coke, and he walked Michael Cuddyer on four pitches, scoring the tying run from third base. Delmon Young then came up and roped a slider to right field, plating Mauer from third and giving the Twins a 4-3 lead.

Kubel was thrown out at home plate by 30 feet to end the rally, but Mauer's run was all the Twins would need.

With the victory, the Twins are now 6-1 against the Tigers this season at Target Field, and 8-5 overall.

The Tigers jumped on the board with two unearned runs in the first inning. J.J. Hardy's errant throw allowed leadoff hitter Austin Jackson to reach base, and Will Rhymes followed with a bunt single. After Brian Duensing retired the next two batters, Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Inge tallied with back-to-back RBI singles, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead.

Detroit added another unearned run in the second inning when Orlando Hudson -- who had a chance to turn an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play -- made an errant throw to Michael Cuddyer at first base, allowing Casper Wells to score from second base.

Brian Duensing threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing just the three unearned runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out two, threw 103 pitches, and lowered his ERA to 2.04 on the season.

In the sixth inning, with the Twins trailing 3-1, Danny Valencia roped a two-out double to the gap in left-center that bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double. Michael Cuddyer scored from second, and Delmon Young would have scored easily from first, but he was forced to return to third base.

Valencia finished the night 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, raising his batting line to .328/.373/.446.